Generative models in foreign language teachers' professional activities: Current state and future prospects

The rapid development of AI technologies over recent years has profoundly impacted various spheres of human activity, including education. This article aims to explore the current use and potential of generative artificial intelligence models (GMs) in the professional activities of foreign language teachers. The aim of the study is to identify the professional tasks that GMs can assist educators with and to analyze how language teachers currently utilize these tools in their practice. The literature analysis provides a theoretical framework for understanding the capabilities and limitations of GMs in language teaching, highlighting their applications in content creation, assessment, feedback, data analysis, etc. A survey was administered to 222 foreign language teachers across various regions of Russia, representing a broad spectrum of teaching experience, to find out the current practices. The research process involved collecting and analyzing quantitative data on the purposes of GM usage, as well as qualitative insights into teachers' practices and perceptions. The data revealed that the majority of educators primarily employ GMs for generating educational content. Less common applications include planning, conducting self-assessment activities, and performing educational analytics. The study also uncovers that teachers with varying levels of experience differ in their adoption patterns. Mid-career educators (5-20 years of experience) are more active users of GMs, utilising GMs for the widest variety of purposes. Conversely, highly experienced teachers tend to utilize GMs more conservatively, often relying on traditional information retrieval. The correlation analysis indicates that longer experience with GMs correlates with broader use of GMs, especially for creating instructional materials and assignments, though overall usage remains limited to specific tasks. The study reveals the gap between the desired and actual exploitation of the potential of GMs. Teachers express a strong desire to develop competencies in areas such as detailed prompt writing, content creation, and educational analytics, recognising the need to fully understand GMs' potential for the assistance in professional activities. The study concludes that while GMs are predominantly used for content and exercise generation, language teachers' interest in their application for more complex pedagogical tasks is evident, but barriers such as lack of methodological guidelines, ethical concerns, and limited awareness hinder wider adoption. The findings suggest that to fully leverage GMs in foreign language education, targeted professional development, comprehensive methodological support, and clear ethical frameworks are needed. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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